Anyone Still Use The Classic Lee Loader

I would invest in a standard press and dies.

The main reason being, you will have to full length size 223 brass , after a few firings, even tho the powder charge is light. The "hammer" loaders only neck sizes.
 
I am only about 5 months in to reloading. I saw a video of the Lee Loader on the "American Handgunner" magazine site and thought it might be interesting to try.

I got one each for 9mm and .45acp and that began my now reloading 'binge'. I found the Lee was pretty decent but it does deserve its "Whack-A-Mole" nickname. :D I bought an RCBS single-stage press and dies about a month later....

The ammo I turned out was decent and I had no trouble with it but it just takes a looooong time. Yes, you can get more adept with it but keeping safety in mind, I wouldn't expect making a bunch of bullets. For making the odd bullet here or there or doing it in a remote location, yes, IMO I think you could make adequate ammo as long as you don't forget to bring your MALLET!
 
When I was a very young teen, I started with the Lee Loader which is now called the Lee Classic.

I used them for several years until I saved enough to go single stage.

I still have all of them.
 
I love Lee Loader's and despite what many say, I do not find them to be much slower than single stage presses. However, the real question is: what is your gun? As far as I am aware those loaders only neck size for .223. For a bolt action that is fine or even desirable, but is inadequate for reliability in autoloaders.
 
That's comforting to hear. I have a CZ 527 varmint and hope to shoot about 100 rounds a month. I shoot therapeutic clays and pistol and buy the promos.
 
Okay place to start . . .

I started with a Lee classic because I wanted to shoot my 44 mag without paying 50 to 80 cents a shot. It worked okay, but the best thing was that it taught me basics of reloading for not too much $$$$. I moved up to a single stage press within a year and that was years ago. The Lee Classic stayed with my reloading stuff and finally went away in a garage sale a year or so ago. All in all they are a great little piece of technology that do the job.

LIfe is good

Prof Young
 
I'm only going to make this suggestion because I too was looking at a lee classic loader but ended up with something else.

The Lee hand press. I am very pleased. I will admit that I did have other loading gear. My brother and I had split a lee bench press and 45 acp dies. The press, etc. was at my brother's house. I just wanted to load 38 special as well. I don't have much room and was looking at the lee classic loader but just couldn't envision hammering away for all my ammo with other people in the house (noise with kids trying to sleep).

With the hand press I now sit in my living room chair and prep brass and load ammo in front of the tv. I go through about 50 or 100 rounds at a time. I still charge the cases in the basement at my powder drop and then come back up and seat bullets. The press was $55 with the primer ram which I happen to really like priming cases with. Everything that I need to bring upstairs with me fits in a tool box that I keep on top of my safe when not in use. Very easy to use.

I do have an old hand loader setup(not lee) that my grandfather gave me for wax bullets and it's fine for that, but not for 50 box plus production.

I've probably loaded about 2200 rounds of 45acp, 9mm, 40 S&W, an 38 special total now on the hand press. I haven't yet, but plan to load some .223, probably a little harder but I've seen people on youtube do it.
 
I started with one. It was an education. And the occasional accidental primer set off. Got everyone in the house's attention. The next year for my birthday my wife and kids got me a Rock Chucker press (that I still use). I was in the Navy at the time and $ were hard to come by.

The Lee Loader is as good a way to start as any. Use it to see how it is done and if you are going to want to load. I started loading as part of beginning a practice of being deliberate in shooting. It is integral to what I do today. I rarely buy factory ammo. But that's just me. Get the loader and see how it goes...
 
I started reloading in 1969 with a Lee Loader. I have 4 presses now and have gone through 3 others and I own 12 die sets and possibly 1 1/4 metric tons of assorted reloading tools and I still on occasion take out one of my 5 Lee Loaders and "pound out" a few rounds. Nothing wrong with a Lee Loader except some think they are not "sophisticated" enough for their use. Too slow? How about 40 seconds for a bottle necked round? Inaccurate? The record holder for 1,000 yard smallest groups was held by a shooter that used a Lee Loader. I have used Lee Loaders with a plastic mallet, a dead blow hammer and a leather mallet. I have also used my .38 Special kit with a 1/2 ton arbor press. If one cannot produce safe, accurate ammo with a Lee Loader, he wouldn't be able to produce safe, accurate ammo on a $1,000 machine either. Perhaps this lifelong machinist/mechanic is still an unsophisticated cave man (although I have used progressive presses [felt really disconnected] and currently have a turret press, and am familiar with tooling/machining to .0005"), but the Lee Loader is the best thing to come along since smokeless powder...
 
It seems that it would be a lot easier and cheaper(I'm retired) to work up a load for my new cz 527 using a Lee classic. I won't be shooting an AR; I'll be going after the ragged hole as a therapy activity.
 
I still have some of the old Lee kits. Used them for years until I was in my 20s, then I bought an RCBS Rockchucker and never looked back. Personally I would not use one again if I had a choice. I would look on bay etc for a good used single stage press. But that's just me.
 
I have a couple that on rare occasion I use at the range for load development. They are kind of a novelty to me. I would consider them to be aggravating to no end if they were my primary method of reloading.
 
For your new CZ 527, using a Lee classic will be fine as long as you only use brass fired out of your new CZ 527. However, you will eventually have to FL resize or buy new ammo. Buying new brass only won't help. BNIB brass is not ready to load out of the box. It must be checked for length(Usually fine for length, but trimmed as required.), FL resized and chamfered and deburred.
And throw those daft scoops away and buy a scale. They're graduated in CC's(a metric unit of liquid volume and nothing to do with reloading), for some reason, and can vary the powder charge plus if minus a full grain.
"...do not find them to be much slower than single stage..." You're doing something wrong with the press.
 
the ml or cubic centimeter designation on the scoops is converted to grains by the density of the powder. I was hoping they would be accurate to +/_ 0.1 gr.
 
Last edited:
I got started reloading 30-06 on a Lee Loader. I kind of miss the days when I could fit ALL my reloading equipment (powder and bullets included) into a shoe box. I eventually got a single stage RCBS set up that does all I need it to do, but I still have a soft spot for the Lee Loader. If nothing else, it teaches you to pay very close attention to detail and makes the reloading steps very plain. I think its still a viable way to reload, but not in any volume, it may take an hour to do 20 rounds at first.
Its still a great way to dip your toe into the reloading waters without laying out the several hundred dollars for a bench mounted press.
If you feel you need an upgrade take a look at the Lee hand press, a good bridge between the Lee Loader and a press.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top